Union Chief Sets Meetings, Says Talks at 'Very Critical Stage'

Washington Teachers' Union President George Parker has scheduled a series of meetings with teachers to discuss contract negotiations with the D.C. school system, which he describes as "at a very critical stage."

In an e-mail sent to union members Thursday night, Parker said contract talks will be shut down next week "to share detailed information with our members and provide clarity about key issues as they relate to seniority, tenure and compensation."

Parker said the meetings, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday at McKinley Technological High School in Northeast Washington, will also be attended by Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee. He said Rhee "will be available for Q and A at a designated time during each session."

The negotiations, which began in December, have come to focus on Rhee's efforts to win acceptance of an optional "pay-for-performance plan," a system of compensation historically opposed by teachers unions.

Citing union sources, none of whom was Parker, The Washington Post reported July 3 that Rhee was proposing a two-tiered salary system in which teachers could earn substantially more if they relinquished some seniority rights and assumed some accountability for test scores. Teachers could choose to retain seniority and receive smaller raises.

Rhee has said that parts of The Post story were incorrect. She refused to elaborate, however, saying she was legally prohibited from talking about the contract negotiations.

She did mention the teacher meetings, however, near the end of an appearance Thursday before the House Committee on Education and Labor, which held a hearing on student achievement and school system governance.

Responding to a question about contract talks from Rep. John F. Tierney (D-Mass.), Rhee said that she and Parker "will be out talking about what the benefits of the contract will be."

Rhee told the committee that she wanted to meet with teachers to assure them that those who chose a pay-for-performance plan would be evaluated fairly. She said she intended to provide "some solace and evidence that we are not going to be making these decisions capriciously or placing them solely in the hands of school principals." Test data would play an important part in teacher evaluations, she said.

In her statement to the committee, Rhee reiterated her commitment to pay-for-performance.

"We must be able to significantly reward teachers who are successful," she said, "and to exit those who, even with the right supports, are unable to increase their students' academic growth."

She added: "It puzzles me that the issue of rewarding teachers for success rather than seniority is a controversial one."

Rhee has consistently depicted Parker as an ally in her quest, praising his courage and calling him a visionary union leader.

But in an interview Thursday, Parker offered a somewhat different picture. He said he was open to considering anything that would raise student achievement but would never agree to a contract that called for teachers to be evaluated largely on student test scores.

"I couldn't buy into a system that based teachers' pay solely on performance," Parker said.